Maura McHugh
Maura McHugh is a comic book writer who lives in Galway, Ireland. Life and Career Maura was born in the USA, but her parents moved back to Ireland when she was child. She did a B.A. in English in History at the University in Galway, and followed it by M.A. in English. In her early twenties she lived and worked in New York. She moved back to Dublin and got involved in running sf conventions for several years and began writing more seriously. During this time she worked in the IT industry in various companies before becoming a freelance consultant. After moving to Galway she began interested in screenwriting and film. She took a Diploma in Film Studies and followed it with a M.A. in Screenwriting. She secured a spot in the Clarion West Writing Workshop in Seattle, and from that point onward her sf/fantasy/horror stories began getting published in magazines and anthologies in the USA and the UK. At this time she also started working for the Writers Guild of Ireland as its newsletter editor and web site manager. In 2009 she was approached by Robert Curley, the owner of the comic book small press Atomic Diner, to write a three-issue comic book called Róisín Dubh . She started developing the story and writing the scripts. After some delay the first issue was released in 2011, with art by Stephen Daly. That year her short script ‘Hotel Training’ was shot by Irish director Conor McMahon, and premiered as part of the Hotel Darklight anthology film. In 2010 she and author Christopher Fowler launched a horror short fiction competition called The Campaign for Real Fear in an attempt to attract a diverse range of writers. The twenty winners were published in UK horror magazine Black Static. Later that year she was again asked by Curley to develop and write another three-issue comic book series called Jennifer Wilde, with art by Stephen Downey. The first issue was published in 2011. In 2011 her script 'The Nail' was accepted to the women-created comic book anthology Womanthology, created by Renea De Liz. She was paired with artist Star St. Germain. In March 2014 it was announced that she was co-writing a Witchfinder mini-series called The Mysteries of Unland, with Kim Newman - art by Tyler Crook, colours by Dave Stewart, lettering by Clem Robins, and covers by Julian Totino Tedesco, published by Dark Horse Comics. Juries * A member of the jury for Golden Blasters Short Film Competition (2009 -2013) * A member of the jury for the Script Pitching Competition at the Junior Galway Film Fleadh (2009 - 2013) * A member of The Shirley Jackson Awards (2011) * A member of the jury for the British Fantasy Awards (2012). Bibliography Comics *''Róisín Dubh'' , Volume 1: 'From the Grave' (Atomic Diner) **Issue 1, interior art Stephen Daly; cover art & lettering Stephen Byrne **Issue 2 - 3, interior art, covers & lettering by Stephen Byrne *''Jennifer Wilde, Volume 1: 'Unlikely Revolutionaries' (Atomic Diner) **Issue 1 - 3, interior art, covers & lettering by Stephen Downey **'Tulpa' - short story, art, colouring & lettering by Leeann Hamilton *'The Nail', ''Womanthology , IDW Publishing Inc. *''Sir Edward Grey Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland'' - co written with Kim Newman - Dark Horse Comics **5 issues. Art by Tyler Crook , colours by Dave Stewart , lettering by Clem Robins , and covers by Julian Totino Tedesco . Edited by Scott Allie. Created by Mike Mignola . Collections *''Twisted Fairy Tales, Barron’s Education Series, February 2013 :: 20 Fairy tales retold with a dark slant, illustrated by Jane Laurie . *Twisted Myths'' , Barron’s Education Series, October 2013 :: 20 Myths retold with a dark slant, illustrated by Jane Laurie . External Sites * Splinister on Livejournal mirror of official blog * Flickr stream * Google+ profile * LinkedIn profile Sources * Mignola Welcomes New Writers to Witchfinder: The Mysteries of Unland , Comic Book Resources * 7 Questions with Maura McHugh David Ferguson, Irish Comic News * 'The Brave New World of Comic Book Heroines The Irish Times, Monday, June 27, 2011 * Róisín Dubh, Demons, and Bicycles: an interview with author Maura McHugh (Part 1) * Róisín Dubh, Demons, and Bicycles: an interview with author Maura McHugh (Part 2) * Quick Questions with Maura McHugh Irish Comic News * Interview with Maura McHugh by Emmet O'Cuana * Quicksilver Questions: Maura McHugh with Chris O'Halloran Category:Writers Category:Irish creators Category:Comic Books Category:Modern Age